Welcome to our monthly book recommendations post for July! We may be a little late this month, but it certainly doesn’t mean that we’ve skimped on our reading. So check out what books we enjoyed last month below!
Fiction
Buzz Sausage Wolf – Jim Beckett and Aurélie Lise-Anne (pub. Hodder Children’s Books)
Buzz the sausage wolf has a new home and he is very excited! He’s not on his own though, as his clever best friend Trilby the mouse has come too.
The first thing Buzz needs to do is find out which human is the pack leader: is it Mum, Leo or the smallest and noisiest, Britney? And what kind of Buzz should he be: the wolf Buzz or the sausage Buzz?
A funny laugh-out-loud story for younger readers with colourful illustrations and a wonderful character full of heart.
The Scream of the Whistle – Emily Randall-Jones (pub. Chicken House)
Ruby is determined to get her mum and dad back together – and if that means following the old railway tracks 3 miles from Gram’s house to home, then that’s what she’ll do.
With Gram’s ramblings about May Eve ringing in her ears, Ruby heads out into the dark and starts following the tracks with her torch firmly in her hand…when suddenly a whistle sounds and a steam train appears out of the darkness.
A chilling time-slip revenge story full of atmosphere that kept us on the edge of our seats! Truly a fitting follow-up to Randall-Jones’ debut title ‘The Witchstone Ghosts’.
Scarlett Buckling and the Case of the Missing Pictures – Mario Ambrosi (pub. Tiny Tree Books)
Scarlett and Gran have always shared a love of detective novels, so when Gran goes missing one night and Scarlett finds her looking confused and upset talking about some missing pictures, she and her new friend Bournemouth decide to investigate.
Scarlett is desperate to help make Gran a bit happier, but they have no idea what pictures Gran is talking about, and Gran’s memory is slipping as she’s diagnosed with dementia.
With the facts not adding up and leads wearing thin, can the children possibly solve the case?
It’s a moving story of family, friendship and the impact that dementia makes on everyone involved: showing the effects that it can have, and the small ways we can help those with it.
Medusa Gorgon’s Bad Hair Day – Bethany Walker and Katie Abey (pub. Scholastic)
Medusa’s bored! She works in the Goddess Athena’s temple guarding her shield, day in and day out, so when her BFF Arachne suggests Medusa writes a diary, she decides to give it a go.
By being totally honest in her writing, hopefully Medusa will keep her feelings in check but nothing is certain, not with the Gods…
So when Athena turns Arachne into a spider, Medusa in a fit of anger, throws Athena’s shield into Hades’ well. As punishment, not only does Athena turn Medusa’s gorgeous hair into snakes, but she has to go get the shield back – which is now in the twenty-first century!
Brilliantly funny, Meddy’s diary had me in stitches with the lows and lowers of secondary school life. Stories in diary form are always popular and this hilariously illustrated book is sure to be a hit when it comes out on 14th August!
Non-fiction
Choose Your Own Evolution – Jules Howard and Gordy Wright (pub. Nosy Crow)
This is a book with a difference. Many of us are familiar with ‘choose your own adventure’ books, but this takes that idea a step further, allowing children to see how each choice can affect the way creatures evolve.
Colourfully illustrated, you start at the ‘Blob Beginnings’ 570 million years ago. With clear explanations of what you are, your habits, and your habitat, you get to pick from between two and five choices as to what happens to you next.
Will you ultimately survive to become part of today’s extensive and varied life on Earth? Or will you fall by the wayside?
With a useful glossary and pronunciation guide in the back, this is an enjoyable way to see how chancy evolution is.
The Cities of the Future – Didier Cornille (pub. Post Wave)
Looking at the future of cities using pioneering examples from around the world, this book promotes ideas of sustainability, enhancing the environment, renewable energy, and housing.
The illustrations echo architectural drawings and the general layout of the book is clean and spacious. The use and amount of the colour green throughout the pictures is like a breath of fresh air compared to many of our current cities!
My husband, who is a town planner, thinks this title would make a great addition for the introduction of urban geography and design study for yrs 8 and 9.
Picture books
A Book For Pio – Susie Oh (pub. Tiny Tree Books)
Pio is a small pig on his first solo trip to the library, but will a little pig who is not very good at reading find a book that’s just right?
With the shelves stretching high above his head, Pio starts to feel lost, until a friendly librarian points him towards the children’s section. There he finds storytime going on, and children around willing to lend a hand.
Children will be captivated by this charming and courageous little pig and won’t expect the ending.
A gentle story, lovingly produced, that will have young ones eager to visit the library, but perhaps not yet on their own!
The Rock Family Band – Robert Tregoning and Laura Brenlla (pub. Oxford Uni Press)
People are all different and that goes for families too – particularly in the Rock family!
Dad, Pops, Liv, Bo, Nana and even Ziggy the poodle are all into glam rock, but Sam is different; he prefers quieter music, and playing his flute.
With Sam’s flute recital looming, can he get his family to sit still and listen, or will they just be too noisy to notice him?
With brilliantly bouncy, rhyming text and bright, striking illustrations, this book shows that even differences can be overcome if we just look and listen.
We were fortunate to see Tregoning reading The Rock Family Band at an event, and he was just as tremendous as them!
Marching Band – Kael Tudor and Kate Hindley (pub. Nosy Crow)
Staying with the musical theme, another wonderful book for children to join in with.
The marching band starts with just three band members as it marches through the city, but as it moves on more and more people and animals join the end of the line with their instruments.
Little ones will love guessing who will join next as the band proceeds to the beach, the ocean, the jungle and even outer space before safely coming home to bed.
The book is full of funny and colourful characters, and if you listen to the free Stories Aloud audio book you get sound effects too!
That’s it for July’s recommendations – join us on Threads/Instagram, Bluesky, or Twitter/X, and let us know what you’ve been reading!
If any of the books have grabbed your attention, then you can pick up a copy of them via our recommendations list below.
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If you’re looking for more book round-ups, check out our previous reviews here.
